"People of the Southern Water Tribe, listen to our demands and nobody will be injured."

Something was different about this Fire Nation solider. He didn't feel rage and anger, he wasn't mad. He was sorrowful; he was hurt. I could see it in him, he wasn't going to hurt innocent people. He wasn't lying, unlike all the others before him.

"If the Southern Water Tribe becomes an ally of the Fire Nation, we will no longer visit your tribe. We would have no reason to. However, if you choose not to, you will become an enemy of the Fire Nation."

What were they going to do? Burn it down? They already had. The tribe was barely on the map. Are they still after waterbenders? Are they still after me?

"We gave you people our last waterbender," an old man shouted, "why can't you just leave us alone already?"

That was a lie. Everybody knew that, well, we did. I am the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. My mother had sacrificed herself to save me. The Fire Nation killed my mother. Anything and everything they got was too good for them.

"I am not in search of any waterbenders; if you happen to have one in your little village, that's somebody else's problem. I'm in search of something else, something much more important."

I thought I heard him mutter something under his breath. Something about "restoring honor". What is he in search of?

"If we do ally with you," I heard an elderly woman say, "your forces will leave us immediately, correct? Nobody will get hurt, is that what you are saying?"

"That's correct. We would just need your cooperation. After that, we would never return."

It was silent. Nobody spoke. Everybody was thinking about it, trying to decide what to say next. It was quite an interesting deal. If we did ally with them, we would be betraying everybody. But, what could we do? Most of the village consists of elderly and children; we would never last.

"We accept your offer."

The village elder, who happened to be my grandmother, accepted his terms. She knew that if we did not accept, they would attack. If they would attack, our village would be done for.

But that isn't the way others saw it. Many were outraged. My brother, Sokka, included. They didn't realize the conequences.

"Wise decision," he said, silencing the outraged crowd, "I just have one question for you all."

What is his question? What does he want? Why has he come here, of all places?

"Where is, the Avatar?"